Many projects require compacting a surface. For example various types of construction projects may require compacting surfaces formed by substances like soil, gravel, and asphalt. Various types of specialized machines exist for compacting such surfaces, including, but not limited to, surface rollers and vibrating plates. Such surface compactors operate by applying downward force on the surface with a base of the surface compactor, which base may include, for example, one or more rollers and/or one or more plates.
Some surface compactors include a vibratory mechanism for generating a fluctuating vertical force on the base of the surface compactor to enhance surface compaction. The results achieved by such a surface compactor may depend in part on the amplitude of the fluctuating vertical force generated by the vibratory mechanism. Accordingly, there exist various control methods for adjusting the magnitude of the fluctuating vertical force to achieve different results. Unfortunately, the effect of any particular amplitude of the fluctuating vertical force may also depend on various other factors, such as the hardness of the surface underlying the base. Thus, due to variations in operating conditions, a control method that involves adjusting the amplitude of the fluctuating vertical force without some type of feedback related to the effect of the fluctuating vertical force may fail to achieve the desired results.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,298 to Sandstrom (“the '298 patent”) discloses using an accelerometer to provide feedback for a method of controlling the amplitude of a fluctuating vertical force used to vibrate a roller. Inside the roller of the machine disclosed in the '298 patent, a rotating weight generates a fluctuating vertical force, thereby exciting vibration of the roller. The accelerometer mounts to a frame that attaches to the vibrating roller. The control method of the '298 patent involves processing the signal from the accelerometer and adjusting the magnitude of the fluctuating vertical force in response to certain operating conditions indicated by the signal.
Although the '298 patent discloses a control method that uses feedback about the actual effect of the fluctuating vertical force on the vibrating roller when adjusting the magnitude of the fluctuating vertical force, certain disadvantages persist. For example, accelerometers robust enough to survive in such an application for an extended period of time are typically relatively expensive.
The surface compactor and methods of the present disclosure solve one or more of the problems set forth above.